


the faint colors of our future

by NinthFeather



Series: Oh Valley of Plenty [3]
Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: (those last two are background though), Autistic Sakuraba Neku, Families of Choice, Fashion Designer Eri (TWEWY), Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Gift Giving, Kimura Satsuki (OC) is the mom friend, Kiryu "Joshua" Yoshiya canonically wears dresses sometimes, Nonbinary Bito "Rhyme" Raimu, Seamstress Shiki Misaki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:46:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24513295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NinthFeather/pseuds/NinthFeather
Summary: Satsuki's time at WildKat with Neku and the others is never really calm, but it's alwaysgood.Or, a survivor of the Reaper's Game who all-but-adopted a bunch of younger survivors realizes that she's been adopted in turn...and then shenanigans ensue.
Series: Oh Valley of Plenty [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1769428
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	the faint colors of our future

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Laora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laora/gifts).
  * Inspired by [a world that's so much brighter than it seems](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23605207) by [Laora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laora/pseuds/Laora). 



> This is for [Laora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laora/pseuds/Laora), who asked for their OC Kimura Satsuki from the fic [a world that’s so much brighter than it seems](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23605207)“interacting with the kids, Hanekoma, or the UG in general in some capacity.” 
> 
> I’m pulling pretty hard on some of their headcanons here (which I do happen to share, but they've developed a lot more than me), in particular related to Josh’s attitude toward clothing. Also, there’s cameo appearances from autistic!Neku and nonbinary!Rhyme.
> 
> Title is from a translation of [Remind Blue](https://kagerouproject.fandom.com/wiki/Remind_Blue#English%20Translation), the same song that gave "a world that’s so much brighter than it seems" its title.

To be honest, Kimura Satsuki wasn’t that big on coffee. She doesn’t _dislike_ it, but she could go without it for weeks and not really miss it. Still, she’d probably bought more in the last few months than in the last three years together, while spending time at WildKat.

Today in particular was a red-letter day, one she got to spend crowded into a booth with all of the kids she’s come to think of as Neku’s friends.

Normally, one or two were missing. Shiki, Eri, and Rhyme had a full docket of extracurriculars. Beat spent a fair amount of time grounded for inadequate reasons or in detention because teachers kept taking his questions as signs of “authority issues.” Sometimes, Neku just didn’t show up, and none of the kids seemed surprised. And when Mr. Hanekoma said that Josh was “otherwise occupied” …well, Satsuki tried not to think about what he was probably doing.

But today, they were all present. Shiki had a huge sketchbook open on the table, and Eri was lining up swatches next to various sketches with painstaking care.

“We’re mostly working on streetwear right now,” Eri said. “So a lot of it’s made for teens and people in their early twenties. But I think the next set of designs might be formalwear. Eri’s been wanting to work with more artificial fabrics.”

Satsuki nodded. She _loved_ the creativity, but she could barely keep up with these two. She’d _thought_ she knew an average amount about fashion, but Eri and Shiki used so many terms she’d never heard before. Who knew there were so many different types of sleeves?

“The point is, once we finish these, we can make you something, if you’d like,” Shiki said.

Satsuki blinked, then held up her hands. “The two of you don’t have to—”

“No, we want to!” Shiki insisted.

“Hey, come on, haven’t you noticed us making stuff for everyone else?” Eri asked.

“Hmmm, we gave a lot of them their clothes before we met her,” Shiki said. “But, hey, look, Eri designed the scarf Neku’s wearing, and I knitted it.”

Neku looked up from his sketchpad and gave her a thumbs-up. It was one of those days when he wasn’t really talking. At first, he’d avoided the rest of them when this happened. Satsuki felt privileged to see him relaxed and calm, occasionally texting one of the others when he had something to say.

“They gave me the best hoodie I have ever owned,” Beat said, with terrifying sincerity. “It’s soft and it looks cool. I don’t wanna wear it out, or I’d be wearin’ it literally every day.”

“Mmm, I reinforced the seams, so it should stand up to at least _some_ wear,” Shiki said. “Is it already getting ragged?”

“No, but I want it to last _forever_ ,” Beat insisted.

“Beat, we can make you another one,” Shiki giggled.

Beat gaped at her.

“They’ve made me a few outfits,” Rhyme said. “They’re some of my favorites.”

“So, what you kids are saying is that I should be honored?” Satsuki asked.

Rhyme and Neku nodded and Beat added an emphatic “ _H*ll_ yeah!”

Curious, she gave Josh a sideways look. “Have you gotten any clothes from Shiki and Eri?”

Josh, to her surprise, looked a bit alarmed, even as Shiki and Eri’s expressions brightened.

“Oh, yeah, Eri, do you still have the sketches?” Shiki asked.

Eri rummaged through her bag, jabbing Beat in the side as she did.

“Watch your elbows!” he exclaimed.

“Watch your—you!” Eri replied.

As Beat sputtered in outrage, she pulled out a different notebook and opened it on top of the other one, then paged through until she found a spread of full-color sketches.

Satsuki squinted. “Are those Gothic Lolita dresses?”

“Huh, I guess Lapin Angelique wasn’t a thing in your Game,” Shiki said. “They sell Gothic Lolita fashion, and Neku told me that Josh _really_ liked using them for power-ups when they were Partners.”

Josh was flushing now. “I-it was strategic.”

“So, you looking amazing in their clothing has nothing to do with it?” Eri asked.

Satsuki had a sinking feeling about this whole situation.

“Josh, I’m not going to judge you for wearing a dress,” she said carefully.

He caught her eyes, expression thunderous. “Of course you aren’t,” he said. “I’m the one who does the judging around here, _remember?_ ”

Satsuki sighed. “ _Why_ are you such a brat, kid?”

“I’ve been told I have a god complex,” he said.

“Yes, yes you do,” Satsuki said. “And it’s really annoying. It doesn’t mean I’m going to make a big deal out of you wearing clothes you like.”

Josh eyed her warily, but the set of his shoulders loosened, just a tiny bit.

Then Neku bounced an eraser off of his head.

Beat ducked below the table, Rhyme shrieked in surprise, and Shiki started giggling uncontrollably.

“ _If any of you spill your drink on my notebooks, I’m beating you up behind the café, I don’t care if you’re a death god!”_ Eri shrieked.

Satsuki scooted toward the edge of the booth, then sat back to enjoy the antics.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> (minor edits made 7/5/2020)


End file.
